In the manufacture of tissue products and the like in which a wet laid fibrous web is dewatered, dried, and creped, it is common practice to apply a creping adhesive to the surface of the creping cylinder (such as a Yankee dryer) at a point just prior to pressing the web against the cylinder surface. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,439 to Soerens teaches creping adhesives containing polyvinyl alcohol and the reaction product of a polyalkylene polyamine, a saturated aliphatic dibasic carboxylic acid, and a poly(oxyethylene) diamine. U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,316 to Soerens and U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,640 to Soerens teach creping adhesives containing polyvinyl alcohol and cationic polyamide resins. U.S. Pat. No. 4,440,898 to Pomplun et al. teaches creping adhesives containing ethylene oxide/propylene oxide copolymers. U.S. Pat. No. 4,436,867 to Pomplun et al. teaches creping adhesives containing poly 2-ethyl-2-oxazoline and a high molecular weight thermoplastic polymer. In addition it has been disclosed to apply the creping adhesive at more than one location. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,213 to Lazorisak et al.
The chemical literature has reported polymer complex formulation between water-soluble polymers (see K. L. Smith, et al., Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 51 (11), 1361, (1959); Y. Osada, Journal of Polymer Science: Polymer Chemistry Edition, 17, 3485, (1979); S. K. Chatterjee, et al., Die Angewandte Makromolekulare Chemie, 116, 99, (1983)). These complexes generally form as a result of very specific and very stable hydrogen bonds formed when the polymers make contact in solution. Complex formation is indicated by an increase in the viscosity of the combined solutions or the formation of a water-insoluble precipitate when solutions of the two polymers are combined. In particular, poly acids such as (poly)acrylic acid or (poly)methacrylic acid are reported to form complexes with poly ethers such as (poly)ethylene oxide and poly amides such as (poly)vinylpyrrolidone or (poly)ethyl oxazoline. However, there is no suggestion in these references that the polymer complexes can be created in situ during the creping of tissue.